Defunct RE Firm Heads Ran $110M Ponzi Scheme, FBI Says

By Stewart Bishop

Law360, New York (February 05, 2014, 6:55 PM ET) -- The owners of bankrupt Southern California real estate investment firm Pacific Property Assets have been arrested and charged with carrying out a Ponzi scheme that cost investors over $110 million when the scam collapsed, the FBI said Wednesday.

Michael Stewart, 66, of Phoenix and John Packard, 63, of Long Beach, Calif., were taken into custody by FBI agents on Wednesday morning, following the return of a 16-count indictment by a federal grand jury that alleges bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and mail fraud, the agency said in...